gerly,
as the chairs were pushed back.

"Yes, I will," promised Uncle Fred.

"And don't leave out the Indians," begged Laddie.

"Nor the cowboys," added Russ.

"Can you tell about some ponies?" asked Rose. "I love ponies!"

"Yes, I'll tell about them, too," said her uncle. "And if you come out
West with me you shall have some rides on ponies."

"Really, truly?" gasped Rose.

"Oh, won't that be fun!" cried Vi. "What color are ponies? And what
makes them be called ponies? I should think they would be called
pawnies, 'cause they paw the ground. And how many have you, Uncle Fred?"

"Oh, Vi! Not so many questions, my dear! Please!" exclaimed her mother,
laughing. "Uncle Fred won't get a chance to tell any story if you talk
so much. You are a regular chatterbox to-night."

"Wait until you get out West. It's so big there you can talk all day and
night and bother no one," said Uncle Fred. "But now I'll tell you about
my ranch.

"As I mentioned, it is near Moon City, in Montana. That is a good many
miles from here, and around my house are big fields, where the cattle
roam about and eat the grass.

"A ranch, you must know, little Bunkers, is just a big farm. But instead
of raising apples and peaches and pears, hay, grain or chickens on my
ranch, I raise cattle. Cows you might call them, though we speak of them
as cattle. Some men raise horses on their ranches, but though I have
some horses and ponies, I have more cattle than anything else.

"I have to keep a number of men to look after the cattle. These men are
called cowboys, and they ride about the ranch on horses, or cow ponies,
and see that the cattle are all right, that they get enough to eat and
drink, and that no one takes them away."

"What do the Indians do?" asked Russ. "Tell us about them."

"Well, some of the Indians farm," said Uncle Fred. "Some of them make
baskets and other things to sell to travelers who come through on the
trains, but many of them just live a lazy life. They are on what is
called a Reservation--that is land which the government has set aside
for them."

"Do Indians come to your ranch?" asked Laddie. "And could I lasso any of
'em with a rope lasso like I saw in some pictures?"

"Well, sometimes Indians do come to Three Star," answered Uncle Fred.
"But I don't believe any of them would like to be lassoed."

"What's this I hear about your having trouble?" asked Daddy Bunker.

"Well, yes, I have been having trouble," answered Un